November 11, 2015

Hi Friends,Hope you all doing good.I am sure you all had a great Diwali celebration.My Diwali went very well in my new house with my in-laws & family.As I was busy with some personal works,I was not able to make any post here.For Diwali, I made Badam burfi,Doodh peda,Wheat halwa ( I am yet to post all these recipes,may be for next Diwali or New year ),Thenkuzhal and Ribbon pakoda for my family.Apart from these sweets,I made Adhirasam,Suzhiyan & Vazhakkai bajji on Diwali day.We love to eat these deep fried stuffs more than sweets & other savories. Actually I had planned to make this post before Diwali.But I couldn’t do it.So Iam sharing it today.Every year my mom prepares potato bajji,Brinjal/Kathirikai bajji,Onion bajji and my most favorite Valakkai bajji( Raw banana fritters).I guess many of you make bajji & bonda with store bought bajji,bonda mix/powder.But my mom & MIL make bajji mix on their own.Basically I love tea shop Vazhakkai bajji a lot.Eating hot Vazhakkai bajji with a sip of steaming hot tea on a rainy day is a pure bliss! Try and experience it without worrying about the calories.Lets see how to make this easy,yummy South Indian style Vazhakkai bajji recipe.
Check out my Onion bajji, Chilli bajji & Stuffed chilli bajji recipes.

Vazhakkai bajji/Raw banana fritters

How to make Vazhakkai bajji / Raw banana fritters !

Cuisine:Indian

Category:Snacks

Serves:10 nos

Prep time:10 Minutes

Cook time:20 Minutes

Total time:30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 200 ml

Besan flour/Kadalai maavu - 1 cup

Rice flour - 1/3 cup

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Kesari color – 2 pinches (optional)

Hing/Asafetida - 1/4 tsp

Ajwain OR Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp

Salt - as needed

Cooking soda - 3 pinches

Water - 1 cup + 2 tbsp ( adjust)

Cooking oil - to deep fry

METHOD

In a wide bowl , mix all the flours , powders , Ajwain or cumin,salt,cooking soda and add water to make a slightly watery batter( like dosa batter). If u make it too watery, bajji will have tails .At the same time,thick batter yields hard bajjis..The batter should be slightly thick & flow like a ribbon.It should coat the onion pieces well.Adjust water & flour accordingly.

Wash and cut the raw banana into two horizontally.Peel the skin and discard it.Slice the raw banana thinly and arrange in a plate.Dip the raw banana in bajji batter.

Heat oil in a kadai and check with a drop of batter to find the correct heating point.ie. If u put a drop of batter , the batter will rise immediately and floats on top. As soon as u get this heating point , simmer the flame and drop the raw banana slices coated well with batter.

Deep fry till the color changes golden brown and the bubbles ceases.Flip it and again cook for a minute. Drain & remove in a tissue paper. Enjoy with tea/coffee!

Note

Addition of food color gives a nice color to bajji as u see in stalls.

My mom & mil adds cumin seeds but i used ajwain for an enhanced flavour. Use any as per ur wish.

Please don’t skip adding soda . It gives a puffy , soft bajji. Make sure u don’t add too much because bajji will be very oily and it is unhealthy too..

Adjust the consistency of batter.. Batter should not be too thin or too thick. If ur batter has become too thin , add besan & rice flour in 3:1 ratio and adjust the batter.If it is too thick add more water. Always add the extra water using a tbsp & check it.

Enjoy puffy,hot Vazhakkai bajji as an evening snack with your family !

October 3, 2014

I came to Salem two days back to celebrate Saraswathi pooja & having a great time here.Yesterday i went to my mom's place for half a day.I had my mom's lunch happily after a long time & i told her to prepare this easy, Tirunelveli famous snack recipe,Thukkada.Thukkada is nothing but spicy wheat flour chips.Yes,its made of wheat flour spiced with chilli powder.I saw some versions using garlic and Red chillies paste.But my mom makes it very simple just by adding red chilli powder to wheat flour.She usually make this spicy snack at the time of Diwali along with Thenkuzhal.When i was thinking about easy savories recipes for Diwali,I reminded about this crispy,guilt free snack and thought of sharing here.My MIL also makes a similar snack recipe using maida called as spicy diamond cuts.I have tasted sweet thukkada too.I will share that version soon.Do try this easy,crispy, yummy thukkada this weekend & to crack this Diwali :) Its very easy to make and comes out crunchy too ! Don't forget to check "Notes" section.

In a wide bowl,take the wheat flour,salt,red chilli powder n oil(optional) .Mix well,Then add water little by little and make a tight dough.( Add water carefully.If u make the dough sticky n soft,u won't get crispy thukkada & also do not add more flour if the dough becomes sticky,thukkada will become very hard).

Let the dough sit for 10 minutes.Then make uniform balls,dust with wheat flour and roll it like a thin chapathi.Use a knife or pizza cutter and cut into diamonds or squares.Place all the pieces in a news paper.No problem if the pieces stick to each other.It will separate while frying.

Heat oil and deep fry them in batches till bubbles cease completely.U will get golden brown thukkada.Remove in a tissue and let it cool.Deep fry all the batches uniformly.If u don’t fry one batch properly,it will become soggy and it will spoil the entire snack.

Store in a box n enjoy with tea or coffee! It stays good for months if properly done.

Note

U can replace red chilli powder by garlic,chilli paste.To make this paste,grind 5 cloves of garlic along with 4-5 red chillies to a smooth paste.

The most important thing to make perfect thukkada lies in the dough.If the dough is too soft n sticky,thukkada will become either hard or soggy.So make the dough tight & perfect.Do not use more flour for dusting.Dust once or twice.

April 15, 2014

In this post,i have shared how to make crispy,white colored potato chips at home easily.As u all know,potato chips is loved by all irrespective of ages.Its our family favourite too.My Mil is an expert in making potato chips.She makes super crispy & white colored chips like in shops.By watching her,i have tried many times in my kitchen.It comes out crispy but turns reddish brown every time. Initially i was thinking it was due to over heated oil.But then i found, the secret of making white colored chips lies in the variety of potato we use.Generally,there are two varieties of potato available in the Indian market.One is the normal cream colored potatoes we use for potato curry and the other one is red colored covered with mud.The second variety is mostly used for making chips.It is called as “chips potato”.I have shared the picture of both the potatoes to differentiate them.When u use this chips potato,ur chips won’t turn brown even if u deep fry for long time.So Friends,if u plan to make potato chips at home, first ask for chips potato.Vendors would know better.Also,do follow the technique i have given below.U’ll get it perfect ! In this week,i will share a detailed video for the same.Hope it will be useful for beginners like me.U can make it for parties in advance & store them.Refer "Notes" section for tips.
If u are looking for baked or microwave potato chips recipe,do visit this link.

As Sendhil is fond of pepper flavoured chips,my MIL always add coarsely ground pepper powder for her son.But i love the one with chilli powder like we get in shops.So she reserves last 2 batches for me for adding red chilli powder,How sweet..

Homemade Potato chips

How to make crispy and white potato chips at home (with video)

Cuisine:Indian

Category:Snacks

Serves:50nos

Prep time:10 Minutes

Cook time:10 Minutes

Total time:20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

Potato - 3 nos

Salt - as needed

Water - to wash and soak

Oil - to deep fry

Pepper powder or chilli powder – as needed to sprinkle ( 1 tsp)

METHOD

Wash and peel the potatoes.Take water in a wide bowl and slice the potatoes directly in the water.Keep the slices immersed in water to avoid discoloration.Rinse it well till the color of water changes to white.( u should remove the starch in potatoes).Ie Discard the water and again wash the potato slices.Repeat this for 2-3 times.

Spread the slices in a paper or towel for 5-10 minutes.Pat it dry by covering with another paper or towel.Make sure there is no moisture in the slices.

In a bowl,take the salt.Dissolve it by adding little water.Set aside.

In a kadai,heat the oil required for deep frying.Check the temperature by dropping a piece of potato slice.If it raises to top immediately,oil is just right.

Keep the flame medium & drop the potato slices in batches.Keep tossing & pressing with a ladle till bubbles cease.Once the bubbles reduce & potato slices turns crispy,reduce the flame completely & carefully sprinkle the salt water standing a feet away.( If you are scared to do this step,skip it and sprinkle salt at the end after removing the chips from oil)

As soon as u sprinkle the salt water,oil bubbles with crackling sound.Keep tossing the chips for salt water to get coated evenly.The noise is completely suppressed after a minute.Bubbles will cease completely.Flip the chips & Remove in a tissue paper.

Sprinkle pepper powder or red chilli powder,mix well and enjoy with variety rice.Store in an air tight box when it is cooled down.

Note

U can make this chips in advanced for parties.Make the chips the previous day.After it cools down completely,keep it in a zip lock bag or polythene cover and store in a box.It stays crispy.

If u don’t want to sprinkle water directly on fire,deep fry the chips.Remove in a bowl.Mix salt with pepper powder or chilli powder.Sprinkle when the chips is hot.Toss well and serve !

Always deep fry the chips in correct flame.If u drop a pinch of potato,it should rise immediately.Reduce the flame to medium & then deep fry.Adjust the flame whenever necessary.Do not let the oil fume or smoke at any point.Then ur chips will become dark brown even if u use chips potato.

If u feel,the oil is overheated,switch off the stove for sometime and let the oil cool down a bit.Then proceed again.By doing this way,u will get all the chips in uniform color.

October 23, 2013

Maida khara biscuit /savoury maida biscuit is a very easy and tasty diwali snacks recipe..I learnt this recipe from my MIL.My mom makes a similar one called “thukkada”,Tirunelveli special snack with wheat flour. I’ll share it soon.This one is with maida.I hope most of u make this snack at home. Generally we all add red chilli powder and the color of this biscuit would be golden brown. I told my mil that i wanted white colored chips.She told me to use green chillies instead of red chillies.As she said , my biscuits were half white in color and not red/golden brown. Thanks a lot aunty . If u try sweet maida biscuit , u can make this one along with it. Both can be made together in 45 minutes..Do try this version. U’ll love it. It comes out crispy and tasty..

INGREDIENTS1 cup - 200ml

All purpose flour / Maida – 1.5 cups

Warm oil – 1/4 cup

Salt & water – as needed

To grind

Green chillies – 2 nos

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Garlic cloves – 5 nos

Oil – to deep fry

METHOD

Grind all the ingredients given under”to grind” to a smooth paste adding 1/4 cup of water.No problem if it is ground coarsely.Strain the ground mixture completely and collect the water. Discard the ground mixture.

In a wide bowl, take the maida , warm oil , salt and ground masala water. Mix well to make it crumble. Add more water and make a dough.Dough should be plaible and soft. Knead well for few minutes and keep covered for 15 minutes.

Make 5 even balls out of the dough and roll chapathi dusting with maida.Make thin circles and cut them into diamonds using a samosa cutter.

Heat oil .Pinch little dough and put in oil.If it rises immediately , oil temperature is right.Take the cut diamonds together and drop in oil. It will be separated in the oil as it gets cooked.Turn every now and then.Deep fry till the bubbles cease.Deep fry them in batches.Remove in a tissue paper and store in an air tight box after it cools down completely.

TIPS

Oil should be luke warm and not too hot.Vanaspathi/dalda can be used instead of oil. If so use 3 tbsp..

Dough should not be sticky. It should be soft and pliable.Dust with maida while making chapathi. Roll chapthis thinly to get a crispy biscuit.

Deep fry in low to medium heat oil to get crispness as well as color.

These biscuits tastes great by next day .It needs minimum half day for all the flavours to infuse well.